An attempt is made to share the truth regarding issues concerning Israel and her right to exist as a Jewish nation. This blog has expanded to present information about radical Islam and its potential impact upon Israel and the West. Yes, I do mix in a bit of opinion from time to time.

Sunday, July 06, 2014

“Answering to Ourselves”

Shabbat has now ended, but I carry with me the messages of an incredible
Shabbat afternoon, during which Rabbi Seth and Sherri Mandell spoke on “Faith in
the Face of Tragedy.” The Mandells lost their son Koby to terrorists
13 years ago, and devote themselves to good work in his memory, via the Koby
Mandell Foundation.

Credit:
Newtownbee

An inspiration to us all, they remind us of the importance of doing mitzvot
(commandments/good works) in the memory of those who are gone. Sometimes, we
have to go down into the darkness, says Sherri, to come to the brachot (the
blessings).

And so I implore one and all not to stop: work on Jewish unity, increase
prayer and Jewish study, show kindnesses to others, and give to charities, in
the names of the three students - Gilad,
Eyal, and Naftali – whom we have lost.

The world will never understand us and it’s pointless to hope that it
will. It is only to ourselves – and Heaven – that we must account for our
behavior.

~~~~~~~~~~

As to how the world sees us: we’re dealing right now with nothing less than
an old-fashioned anti-Semitic blood libel, with regard to the charges that Jews
killed the boy Mohammed Hussein Abu Khder.

Last I wrote about Abu Khder, I provided arguments as to why there is every
reason to believe his murderers were Arab. I included the fact that his
body had been burned and pointed out that this was not the Jewish way.
Which it most certainly is not.

But now I must carry this further: The initial autopsy result shows that
this boy died of burns over 90% of his body. Horrendous. He
was burned to death.

Well, it happens that burning alive is a “traditional” approach within
Islamic law for executing a homosexual.

How do we combat it, when Arabs claim that Jews, knowing of the Muslim
approach, did it to make it look like a Muslim did it?

We carry on, while the government and security agencies pursue a vigorous
investigation to find the murderers. Won’t be an easy job, as they are
being shielded, undoubtedly. Most importantly, we do not hesitate to take
whatever actions we know must be taken, even though some portions of the world
will now insist on seeing a moral equivalency - Arabs kill innocent boys,
Jews kill innocent boys.

We must not expect fairness from the world – we must answer to
ourselves.

~~~~~~~~~~

What seems reasonably clear to me is that some significant percentage of
the Arab rioters in the Jerusalem streets probably knew full well – based on the
information about how the boy died – that their own people did this. Not
that this stopped them from their rampage. Perhaps they simply chose to
adopt the the blood libel as truth.

Undoubtedly they see it as a win-win-win situation for themselves: Their
community is rid of a boy who would have been considered an “abomination” (the
ugly reality is that this is how Islam sees it), while they have been able to
shift the blame onto Israel, which had the moral high ground after the murder of
the students. And they have a chance to riot, as well.

The rioting hasn’t stopped, I must note: it has spread to the “triangle”
area in the north that has a heavy Arab population.

~~~~~~~~~~

Shifting gears, I want to look at the situation with Gaza, which is in flux
at the moment. Here I will provide background, mindful that by tomorrow
another posting to address a new situation may be called for.

During the time that we as a nation were focused on the search for the boys
and then the initial mourning for them, there had been a fairly regular barrage
of rockets launched from Gaza. Hamas did not do all of the launching, but
it was reported as being more directly involved than it had been of
recent. And it was clear that they were giving other terrorists groups a
free hand to promote attacks – a shift from the situation that had prevailed
since our last operation in Gaza in 2012 (“Pillar of Defense”), after which it
was said we had deterrence.

In the course of the last few days, there were a few injuries (no
fatalities) and some damage done by the rockets. But what must be pointed
out as well is the misery of life in southern Israel – and particularly Sderot –
when there are sirens sounding, which require a dash to a shelter and make the
heart pump furiously. It’s no way for innocent civilians to have to live,
and it is incumbent upon our government to act against this.

~~~~~~~~~~

Additional IDF troops were moved along the border in Gaza by mid-week,
suggesting the imminence of a major military action. But I suspected that
this was saber-rattling, and indeed this is what it turned out to be.

On Thursday, Netanyahu delivered a message to Hamas leadership via Egypt
that said we would be “quiet” if they were “quiet.” Thursday evening (at a
Fourth of July celebration at the home of the US Ambassador to Israel), he
said:

"Now we are preparing for two
possibilities in the south: The first is that the firing at our communities will
stop and then our operations will stop as well and the quiet that prevailed in
the south after Operation Pillar of Defense will continue. The second
possibility is that the firing at our communities in the south will continue and
then the reinforcement forces that are located in the field will act
forcefully. The security of our citizens comes first." (Emphasis
added)

Not a good policy, this “quiet for quiet.” It has made me – along
with many others – crazy for years. This is what Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA
had to say about this policy on Thursday. It explains the situation very
succinctly:

“Let me spell out what this message to
Hamas is actually saying:

“Dear Hamas leadership,

“If you stop
shooting - at least stop shooting much - then we will leave you alone so that
you can continue to build up your offensive capabilities.

“We call this
our ‘quiet for quiet’ policy.

“And we don't have to tell you just how
much the "quiet for quiet" policy has been a gift for Hamas until now.

“When we first began the ‘quiet for quiet policy’ there were only very
primitive launching devices in the Gaza Strip with extremely limited range and
payload.

“At the time we adopted the ‘quiet for quiet’ policy because we
didn't want to invest the military effort required to clear out the Gaza Strip
of the terror threat as we did in the massive operation we carried out in the
West Bank and we wanted to keep life bearable within the area that was within
range of attacks from the Gaza Strip.

“Thanks to Israel's ‘quiet for
quiet’, there are now weapons factories in the Gaza Strip producing rockets and
missiles that can reach Tel Aviv and beyond...”

Hamas and related smaller jihadist groups in Gaza are estimated to have
70,000 rockets and missiles.

~~~~~~~~~~

On Friday, we heard that Egypt was supposed to be negotiating a ceasefire
between Israel and Hamas that was expected to kick in momentarily.

This was already a bad way to go, and it then got worse:

It is standard policy for the Israeli Air Force to fly in over Gaza every
time a rocket is launched, and hit something: a launching field, a weapons
factory, an empty building. Occasionally, a person who is involved with
the rockets gets hit. This is not a major operation, by any means, and not
really expected to deter further launchings. But it is a way of extracting
a price for every rocket or missile fired into Israel.

What happened on Friday was that a decision was made NOT to respond to
rockets. This was nauseating. This was a “bang my head against the wall”
scenario.

“The idea is apparently out of the
desperate hope that if the Jewish State allows Hamas to pummel it for a few
hours that Hamas will consider itself the victor and return the ‘quiet for
quiet’ arrangement.”

Our government was so eager for “quiet” that it was willing to let Hamas
appear the stronger force?

~~~~~~~~~~

It should be noted that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman voiced
opposition to a ceasefire.

~~~~~~~~~~

I went into Shabbat – during which time there is a news blackout for me –
assuming that by the time Shabbat went out a ceasefire would have been
announced.

What I discovered tonight was that there has been no ceasefire: Hamas has
not stopped firing rockets but has, instead, escalated its attacks. Some
20 plus rockets were shot into Israel today, and, for the first time since 2012,
rockets were aimed at the major Negev city of Be’ersheva.

Apparently, we have started responding again to at least some of the rocket
launchings, but no major IDF action has been initiated, at least not yet.
NU? It is more than 48 hours since Netanyahu delivered his
ultimatum. The prime minister consulted with military and security heads
tonight and, say news reports, “may be considering” a larger operation.

Why “considering.” The head of our government said, clearly, that if
the rocket attacks didn’t stop, we would act forcefully.
There had better be an operation now, or we will look very weak and foolish
indeed, at a time when there is not the luxury of seeming weak.

~~~~~~~~~~

What is going on?

As is his wont, Netanyahu is attempting to answer to the world again,
instead of accounting to ourselves for our actions. I have seen some analyses
that say that the murder of Mohammed Hussein Abu Khder limits his options in
Gaza. And I think this is nonsense. An idiotic and judgmental US secretary
of state alluded last week to the boy’s murder as “vengeance,” by which he meant
that Jews attacked an Arab unreasonably in response to the murder of Jewish
boys. So this means we cannot take action in Gaza because we will be
accused of additional vengeance?

It’s important to make matters clear here. It is not as if Hamas was
sitting quietly over there in Gaza, and we decided to hit them because our boys
died. (Which, by the way, still would not be vengeance, but rather – as I
had discussed – justice, as we would attempt to weaken the leadership
responsible for such acts.) But as it is, our going into Gaza would be
self-defense, plain and simple. And we are not only entitled to self-defense, it
is essential.

~~~~~~~~~~

Two important additional points here, with more to follow
undoubtedly.

First, a ground operation is necessary to take out any significant part of
the rocket capability of Hamas in Gaza. That is because those rockets are hidden
in civilian areas – and Hamas counts on Israel to not inflict the sort of
civilian damage that would likely result from targeting the rockets from the
air.

~~~~~~~~~~

And then this: Our goal should be as much destruction of Hamas weaponry as
possible, and a diminishing/weakening of Hamas leadership. However, it
should not be our goal to take down Hamas completely, as much as this appeals to
many. That is because Hamas is not the worst of the jihadist forces in
Gaza now.

There is al-Qaeda. And, according to Khaled Abu Toameh, there is ISIS: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4392/isis-gaza . If
we create a vacuum, one of these other groups will move in. (Right now,
for a variety of reasons, there is no thought being given to retaking
Gaza.)

~~~~~~~~~~

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (head of Habayit Hayehudi) is screaming
long and loud about the impression of weakness lent by current government
decisions. He is calling for tough action in Gaza. So are some
others.

Let us see what transpires tomorrow...

As time allows, I may look at a variety of ways to handle Hamas that are
being proposed.

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We are hypocrites and cowards - we take freedom for granted as it is eroding underneath our feet‏

Message to offended Muslims

A GOOD, TRUE STORY NOT KNOWN BY MANY.....Air Force.

The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

What happened?

Mark Hasten Tribute Video Touro College

Housing Quiz

The Record-so far...!

CBS special on Bengazi

Report: 83 percent of doctors have considered quitting over Obamacare

Sally Nelson

Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving their practices over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical Association.

Islamization on the move

"What we are dealing with is Islamization. Islamization is the imposition of ideological norms in increasing severity. Like Nazification, it transforms a society by remaking it in its own image from the largest to the smallest of details."Daniel Greenfield

Toronto rejects Anti-Israel Ads...

Shrinking Lands

Why Israel opposes international forces in the jordan valley/

/why-israel-opposes-international-forces-in-the-jordan-valley/

Islam is Islam, And That’s It

Back in 2007, when confronted with the phrase “moderate Islam”, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan famously responded: “These descriptions are very ugly, it is offensive and an insult to our religion. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that’s it.”

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading and annotating this video: View video at http://gatesofvienna.net/

There's no racist like a liberal racist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vz4PjxSmtoI

Ex-Navy SEAL Drops Bombshell On FOX: Says Government is Creating Conditions to Impose Martial Law R

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDuds14OBiE#t=156

American surprise

The Nairobi Mall Massacre

Ninh Chu Ninh Chu

Islam Untied

Platitudes about Islam being a faith of peace are not credible anymore. Islam is only as good as the way its followers practice it; and if they have created killing fields in the name of Islam, then Islam will be recognized by the silence of those who did not speak out when their faith was being massacred to massacre humanity.

AFTERBURNER w/ BILL WHITTLE: The Lynching

What-are you against peace?

Sydney Wake Up The Horrific Muslim Infiltration Of Britain - Luton

Kerry: 'Core Issue of Instability ... Is the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict'‏

Kerry is no friend. By endorsing the "Arab peace initiative" he shows his true intentions and beliefs . And by endorsing linkage he shows that he is either a liar or a fool.Syria is on fire, Egypt is at best incredibly unstable and this is due to Israel? It is out in the open!

A word to left-wing students

In their own words-ru listening?

"The lesson these Islamist groups appear to be drawing from events in Egypt is that democratic engagement with opponents is pointless. And that doesn't bode well for countries with strong Islamist movements..."

Flashback: Obama Admits He Cut Medicare

Another Democratic slogan blown to h....

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

When nations and cultures ignore the early warning signs of the infiltration of radical Islam

The UK has 85 sharia courts. France has over 750 “no go zones,” Muslim enclaves where even French police don’t enter.

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDKk15KcqNk&feature=email

No such thing as "Islamophobia"

However, if you do not want your positions challenged or criticized or even researched, make up a new "phobia"-shout it long enough and some "people", agenda driven, will use it. Ay, yes, the false term does keep many, many financially rewarded-follow the money.gs don morris, Ph.D.

Khader Adnan: Leader of Islamic jihad or innocent baker?

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.More...

Omar Barghouti's Propaganda at USC on January 12, 2012

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’ -- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.Clare M. Lopez

Americans are opening their eyes

Advertisers fleeing All-American Muslim 'propaganda'The American people are seeing through the propaganda piece that is TLC's All-American Muslim reality/dawah show, and responsible advertisers are fleeing in droves. The show aims to combat a trumped-up problem, "Islamophobia," by presenting Muslims who are just ordinary folk, and

Why Islam is Incompatible with Western Law

Col. Allen West answers a question on muslim terror

Challah's Gaza Rocket Counter

This Month:4Last Month:191

This Year: 562

Total since 2002: 12055

Cease fire Hamas style!!

Thanks http://challahhuakbar.blogspot.com/

"Islamophobia"

"Islamophobia" was a politically manipulative coinage designed to silence critics of Islamic supremacism.It was invented, deliberately, by a Muslim Brotherhood front organization, the International Institute for Islamic Thought, which is based in Northern Virginia.

10 Unknown West Bank Facts

Liberals Redefine "Extremism" and the "Political Center"

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist.The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

Don’t ever call it ‘West Bank’ again

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

Who do the territories belong to?

The legal borders of Israel under international law

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror YeminiIn 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state. Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

How Liberals Argue

Hebrew Univ-you rock!!

Judea and Samaria are not "occupied" lands-why?

Judea-Samaria were not only parts of the ancient Jewish homeland but were recognized as part of the Jewish National Home recognized by San Remo and the League of Nations [1920, 1922] and by the UN charter [article 80; 1945].

"Political Correctness."

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."Texas A&M

Christopher Monckton Speaking in St. Paul on the climate issues

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

WHAT Golda Meir actually said...

"When was there an independent Palestinian people with a Palestinian state? It was either southern Syria before the First World War, and then it was a Palestine including Jordan. It was not as though there was a Palestinian people in Palestine considering itself as a Palestinian people and we came and threw them out and took their country away from them. They did not exist." Golda Meir June 15, 1969: Interview in the UK Sunday Times

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

About Me

Semi-retired Professor, now also permanent resident of Israel;divides time between both countries-serves on several Boards of Directors for Israel advocacy groups;Chana, resident of Jerusalem, JCPA member